Ethnobotany around the Virovitica Area in NW Slavonia (Continental Croatia)—Record of Rare Edible Use of Fungus Sarccoscypha coccinea

Slavonia is the most developed agricultural region in Croatia. With rich and fertile soils that have enabled the cultivation of a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and cereals, Slavonia has always met the food needs of its population. Today, the biocultural diversity of local varieties and semi-natural vegetation has irretrievably disappeared. Our aim was to document the remaining local knowledge of plant use in this area through in-depth semi-structured interviews, which were conducted in 2022–2023. All possible aspects of the use of plants and fungi were recorded as food, animal feed, medicine, construction, jewelry, rituals and ceremonies, dyes, etc. The names and uses of local plant varieties were also recorded. The results show 1702 entries—a total of 296 plant taxa from 76 families and 28 fungi from 16 families. The most frequently named plants were: Urtica dioica, Robinia pseudoacacia, Rosa canina, and Sambucus nigra. The plants with the greatest variety of uses were Morus alba, Rosmarinus officinalis, Triticum aestivum, and Zea mays. Interesting uses were identified. The leaves of the ornamental plant Hosta sieboldiana are still used today as food for wrapping meat with rice, the aquatic plant Trapa natans is eaten like chestnuts, and Pteridium aquilinum was once consumed as a vegetable. In addition, Ambrosia artemisiifolia and Sambucus ebulus were given to horses to prevent and avoid blood poisoning. Some forest species had a special significance and were revered or favored. The most frequently mentioned edible fungi were Boletus sp., Cantharellus cibarius, and Lactarius piperatus. Auricularia auricula-judae is the only species stated to have been used exclusively as a raw snack. Evidence of edible use of Sarccoscypha coccinea, which was reported as traditionally consumed in the past, was of particular interest. Despite the modernization and agricultural nature of the region, many interesting uses of plants and fungi were identified. Further efforts should be directed towards documenting this knowledge to facilitate its dissemination in the communities that possess it, or at least to preserve it for future generations.


Introduction
Due to its ecological and socio-economic conditions, Slavonia is the most developed agricultural area in Croatia.It has always met the food needs of its population, and its rich and fertile soils have enabled the cultivation of a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and cereals.For this reason, the use of wild plants in the diet of the people of Slavonia is generally not greatly pronounced, as is common for peasants from Slavic countries, who used to resort to several of the most common wild greens, ignoring other species [1].In contrast to Slavonia, the region of Dalmatia in Croatia is ethnobotanically very interesting, Plants 2024, 13, 2153 2 of 47 with the combination of Slavic and Mediterranean influence positively affecting the number of wild plants used in everyday life [2].
In the last century, the records of traditional foraging practices are derived from travelogues, historical ethnographic papers, and accounts of famines, which have impacted nearly every country on Earth [3][4][5][6].In most European countries, wild plant use intensified in times of famine and war [3].When the population of Slavonia underwent mass starvation, especially during Ottoman rule (16th and 17th centuries), chestnuts (Castanea sativa Mill.) were added to wheat flour to bake bread.Remarkably, there has been no major famine in Slavonia for about 175 years, since the mid-19th century, not even during the First and Second World Wars.The widespread use of acorns (Quercus sp.) as a raw material for bread making was also not recorded [7].However, the feeding of acorns to animals was widespread and is used today in organic pig farming [8].
Due to the rich and fertile soils of the Pannonian Plain, the area of Slavonia was colonized several times in the 19th century by settlers from other parts of the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy [9].After the First World War, during the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and then after the Second World War, at the beginning of the former socialist Yugoslavia, the population was resettled to Slavonia from the poor regions of the country, such as Herzegovina, the Dalmatian hinterland, Bosnia and Montenegro.As a result, Slavonia saw the assimilation and mixing of Slavic and Germanic peoples and, to a lesser extent, the Hungarians who lived along the natural border of the Drava River.
The different peoples brought with them knowledge of plant cultivation and various crafts.They had little need to use wild plants as food.In the 19th and first half of the 20th century, forestry and hunting of wild animals were important economic activities in addition to agriculture [10].All this is reflected in the traditional continental cuisine of Slavonia, which is based on pork meat and river fish, a variety of cereals, paprika, suet, browned flour, pork fat, roasts, cultivated fruits (quince, currant, gooseberry, plum, apricot, etc.) and naturalized fruits planted by the order of Empress Maria Theresa (e.g., white and black mulberry, Morus alba and M. nigra) [11,12].
In 2008 Ivan Šugar [13] published a systematic collection of Croatian plant names "Hrvatski biljni imenoslov", which was created on the basis of the author's many years of fieldwork on the collection of vernacular names for plants throughout Croatia.Between 1962 and 1986, the Yugoslav Army conducted a project in which Josip Bakić from the Institute for Naval Medicine of the Yugoslav Navy in Split documented traditional knowledge of wild foods and analyzed their chemical composition.He trained army personnel, developed survival tactics, organized survival expeditions, and shared the results of his studies and experiments with the general public [14][15][16][17][18][19].Thorough systematic ethnobotanical research in Croatia started over a decade ago, on the Adriatic coast, with two authors of this paper, in the regions of Dalmatia [2,11], Primorje, Istria [20][21][22], then Inland Dalmatia [23] and Lika [24].Continental Croatia has only been explored recently, and only partially so, e.g., around Varaždin [25][26][27].No ethnobotanical research has been conducted in Northwest Slavonia.The closest region to have been the subject of research was Northeast Pannonia [28], where medicinal plant use was recorded.
Presently, traditional knowledge is being forgotten due to changes in lifestyle, migration, depopulation, and the transition to a "modern way of life", without coexistence with nature.Łuczaj [29] emphasizes that biocultural biodiversity is irretrievably disappearing, and hence the main goal and absolute priority of ethnobiological research is to document disappearing traditional knowledge.Given this context, the aim of the present paper is to document and highlight the persistence of local ethnobotanical knowledge of people living in NW Slavonia, a continental part of Croatia.

Results and Discussion
In the survey conducted between July 2022 and September 2023, 1702 data records on plants known to the respondents were collected.A total of 296 plant taxa from 76 families Plants 2024, 13, 2153 3 of 47 and 28 fungi from 16 families were recorded (Table 1).Of the total of 296 plant taxa, 36 were only named by one informant.
In the interviews conducted, the average number of plant taxa mentioned per respondent was 44.6, ranging from 16 to 98 (SD = ±18.7).Fungi were mentioned in 30 surveys, with an average of 4.3 fungal species per respondent.The largest number of plant taxa belongs to the families Rosaceae (64), Vitaceae (27), and Asteraceae (20).Certain families are characterized by a high number of mentions of a single plant taxon, such as the families Urticaceae (Urtica dioica, 34 times) and Viburnaceae (Sambucus nigra, 28 times).
While the number of plant varieties mentioned is larger in reality, they are not listed in the table because their cultivation and use are widespread today, and no specific application was recorded.Moreover, according to the interviewees, the great genetic diversity of the varieties has been lost with the advent of seed companies.
The social, economic, and cultural importance of a plant for an area can be judged by the type and frequency of its use.Plants in the study area are used for food, beverages, cosmetics, alcoholic beverages, animal feed, tools and equipment, building and construction, ceremonial purposes, medicine, and other unspecified uses.The most common use category is food (846 entries), followed by medicine (217 entries), other unspecified uses (214 entries), and beverages (188 entries).The least frequently mentioned uses are ceremonial (48 entries), building and construction (35), and cosmetics (21).The greatest variety of plants is found in the use category food (210 plant taxa), followed by other uses (102 plant taxa) and medicine (95 plant taxa).For the purpose of data presentation, we narrowed the use categories from 10 to 6 in Figure 1.

Results and Discussion
In the survey conducted between July 2022 and September 2023, 1702 data records on plants known to the respondents were collected.A total of 296 plant taxa from 76 families and 28 fungi from 16 families were recorded (Table 1).Of the total of 296 plant taxa, 36 were only named by one informant.
In the interviews conducted, the average number of plant taxa mentioned per respondent was 44.6, ranging from 16 to 98 (SD = ±18.7).Fungi were mentioned in 30 surveys, with an average of 4.3 fungal species per respondent.The largest number of plant taxa belongs to the families Rosaceae (64), Vitaceae (27), and Asteraceae (20).Certain families are characterized by a high number of mentions of a single plant taxon, such as the families Urticaceae (Urtica dioica, 34 times) and Viburnaceae (Sambucus nigra, 28 times).
While the number of plant varieties mentioned is larger in reality, they are not listed in the table because their cultivation and use are widespread today, and no specific application was recorded.Moreover, according to the interviewees, the great genetic diversity of the varieties has been lost with the advent of seed companies.
The social, economic, and cultural importance of a plant for an area can be judged by the type and frequency of its use.Plants in the study area are used for food, beverages, cosmetics, alcoholic beverages, animal feed, tools and equipment, building and construction, ceremonial purposes, medicine, and other unspecified uses.The most common use category is food (846 entries), followed by medicine (217 entries), other unspecified uses (214 entries), and beverages (188 entries).The least frequently mentioned uses are ceremonial (48 entries), building and construction (35), and cosmetics (21).The greatest variety of plants is found in the use category food (210 plant taxa), followed by other uses (102 plant taxa) and medicine (95 plant taxa).For the purpose of data presentation, we narrowed the use categories from 10 to 6 in Figure 1.Part used: ap-aerial parts, bch-branch, bd-bud, bk-bark, bl-bulb, fl-flowers, fr-fruit, hu-husk, hy-hypocotyl, im-immature fruit, in-inflorescence, lf-leaf, lg-legumes, pcl-pedicel, pe-petal, pj-plant juice, rh-rhizome, rs-resin, rt-root, sd-seed, sh-shoot, st-stalk, sty-styles, tb-tuber, tk-trunk, tr-tree, u-underground parts, wh-whole plant.Without literature numbers, the taxa recorded in this study, which have not yet been published in written regional sources (mostly these are new documented varieties of cultivated plants or taxa used as ornamental plants) Urtica dioica, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Sambucus nigra are the three taxa with the highest values in the usage reports (UR).Their use in different use categories was reported 50 times or more in the surveys (Figure 2).The taxa with the highest UR values are mainly used for food, beverages, medicinal, and other purposes (Table 2).Among them, Taraxacum spp.has the highest uniformity of use as measured by the fidelity level (FL) (FL = 0.96) for the food use category, followed by Rosa canina (FL = 0.79).The taxa Tilia spp.(FL = 0.86) and Sambucus nigra (FL = 0.84) have the highest degree of fidelity for the non-alcoholic beverage usage category.
Urtica dioica, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Sambucus nigra are the three taxa with the highest values in the usage reports (UR).Their use in different use categories was reported 50 times or more in the surveys (Figure 2).The taxa with the highest UR values are mainly used for food, beverages, medicinal, and other purposes (Table 2).Among them, Taraxacum spp.has the highest uniformity of use as measured by the fidelity level (FL) (FL = 0.96) for the food use category, followed by Rosa canina (FL = 0.79).The taxa Tilia spp.(FL = 0.86) and Sambucus nigra (FL = 0.84) have the highest degree of fidelity for the nonalcoholic beverage usage category.For the principal component analysis (PCA), six variables or usage categories were formed, so that some usage types were combined into one:

•
Food and non-alcoholic beverages are combined into "Food or drink"; • Medical use and cosmetics are combined into "Medicine or cosmetics"; • Uses for construction, making of tools and utensils have been combined into "Building, tools or utensils"; • Ceremonial use and other unspecified uses are summarized under "Other uses".
The PCA calculations are based on the absolute frequencies of plant uses in the various use categories.A PCA biplot shows the dispersion of the plants in relation to the first two components (Figure 3).The percentage of variance attributable to the first component is 60.487%, and the percentage of variance attributable to the second component is 12.438%.
Plants 2024, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEW 32 of 47 For the principal component analysis (PCA), six variables or usage categories were formed, so that some usage types were combined into one:

•
Food and non-alcoholic beverages are combined into "Food or drink"; • Medical use and cosmetics are combined into "Medicine or cosmetics"; • Uses for construction, making of tools and utensils have been combined into "Building, tools or utensils"; • Ceremonial use and other unspecified uses are summarized under "Other uses".
The PCA calculations are based on the absolute frequencies of plant uses in the various use categories.A PCA biplot shows the dispersion of the plants in relation to the first two components (Figure 3.).The percentage of variance attributable to the first component is 60.487%, and the percentage of variance attributable to the second component is 12.438%.The variable "Food or drink" has the highest positive loading of the first component.In the second component, the use categories "Building, tools or utensils" and "Other uses" have the highest positive loading, while the use category "Alcoholic beverage" has the highest negative loading.According to the PCA scores obtained, in the area of negative values of component 1, we find plants used for construction, manufacture of tools, and for other purposes not mentioned (Figure 3.).In the second quadrant, we find plants used for the making of food or beverages, while in the third quadrant, we find edible plants and those used for the production of alcoholic beverages.
The number of interviews in which the use of a particular plant is mentioned is highest for the most frequently listed plant taxa: Urtica dioica (34) and Sambucus nigra (28), which means that all interviewees who mentioned these plants also mentioned at least one category of use for them.Relative frequency of citation (RFC) for these taxa is 0.900 and 0.775, respectively.The taxa Robinia pseudoacacia (RFC = 0.725) and Rosa canina (0.725) also have high RFCs.The plants with the greatest diversity of uses are Morus alba, The variable "Food or drink" has the highest positive loading of the first component.In the second component, the use categories "Building, tools or utensils" and "Other uses" have the highest positive loading, while the use category "Alcoholic beverage" has the highest negative loading.According to the PCA scores obtained, in the area of negative values of component 1, we find plants used for construction, manufacture of tools, and for other purposes not mentioned (Figure 3).In the second quadrant, we find plants used for the making of food or beverages, while in the third quadrant, we find edible plants and those used for the production of alcoholic beverages.
The number of interviews in which the use of a particular plant is mentioned is highest for the most frequently listed plant taxa: Urtica dioica (34) and Sambucus nigra (28), which means that all interviewees who mentioned these plants also mentioned at least one category of use for them.Relative frequency of citation (RFC) for these taxa is 0.900 and 0.775, respectively.The taxa Robinia pseudoacacia (RFC = 0.725) and Rosa canina (0.725) also have high RFCs.The plants with the greatest diversity of uses are Morus alba, Rosmarinus officinalis, Triticum aestivum, and Zea mays.They all belong to seven out of the ten use categories.
The importance of the taxa for the study area was assessed using the cultural importance (CI) and relative importance (RI) indices.The most frequently used part of the plant is the fruit, which is mentioned 153 times.This is followed by leaves, with 83 mentions; above-ground parts, with 48; and seeds, with 45 mentions.Fruits are usually eaten, while the flower and leaf parts are used for drinks, medicinal purposes, and food.The chord diagram in Figure 4 presents the 15 plants with the highest UR according to their most frequently utilized parts.The most frequently used part of the plant is the fruit, which is mentioned 153 times.This is followed by leaves, with 83 mentions; above-ground parts, with 48; and seeds, with 45 mentions.Fruits are usually eaten, while the flower and leaf parts are used for drinks, medicinal purposes, and food.The chord diagram in Figure 4 presents the 15 plants with the highest UR according to their most frequently utilized parts.

Cultivated Plants
Since Northwest Slavonia is an agricultural region, the cultivation of plants has been an integral part of the duties and traditions of the local population.In the past, households were usually self-sufficient, producing their own food in vegetable gardens, vineyards, and orchards.It was common for housewives to spend their time in the vegetable garden as a secondary task to running the household.The food produced in the gardens and fields formed the basis for feeding people and domestic animals, as was also the case in the Central Lika region [24].Surplus food was prepared and preserved for the winter using the following methods: drying, pickling, canning, storage in pits (mostly potatoes, using a pit called "trap" in Croatian), or in attics.Fruit species are mentioned particularly frequently, with Malus domestica, Vitis vinifera, Prunus domestica, and Pyrus communis as the basis of fruit consumption and the production of strong alcoholic beverages (brandy and liqueur).The fruits of these species were regularly dried for the winter and processed

Cultivated Plants
Since Northwest Slavonia is an agricultural region, the cultivation of plants has been an integral part of the duties and traditions of the local population.In the past, households were usually self-sufficient, producing their own food in vegetable gardens, vineyards, and orchards.It was common for housewives to spend their time in the vegetable garden as a secondary task to running the household.The food produced in the gardens and fields formed the basis for feeding people and domestic animals, as was also the case in the Central Lika region [24].Surplus food was prepared and preserved for the winter using the following methods: drying, pickling, canning, storage in pits (mostly potatoes, using a pit called "trap" in Croatian), or in attics.Fruit species are mentioned particularly frequently, with Malus domestica, Vitis vinifera, Prunus domestica, and Pyrus communis as the basis of fruit consumption and the production of strong alcoholic beverages (brandy and liqueur).The fruits of these species were regularly dried for the winter and processed into jam.The pear variety 'Tikvica' (Pyrus communis 'Tikvica') was most commonly dried.In Central Lika, the variety 'Jesenka' was used for this purpose [24].
The population of the studied area fed on cultivated fruit species from orchards and vineyards, and much less on wild fruit species.The apple tree was an indispensable fruit species, and its use was widespread, whether fresh, for pies, dried on a string or next to the oven, for making vinegar, compote, tea, brandy, juice, or baked as a dessert.We recorded a total of 19 varieties of apples.
The grapevine was an indispensable part of fruit growing.Due to their natural resistance to many diseases, the most grown grape varieties were 'Tudum' (Vitis x labruscania) and 'Izabela' (Vitis vinifera 'Isabella').People favored these varieties because they produced the best yields at a time when only blue vitriol (CuSO 4 ) and Bordeaux mixture were used to protect the plants.Although the commercial production of 'Tudum' wine is forbidden today, the local population prefers must and wine from this variety.In the Samobor area, the local population also produced wine from the Tudum variety [26].In the Virovitica area and the Žumberak-Somoborsko gorje [26], the varieties 'Isabella', 'Frankovka', 'Chardonnay', 'Kraljevina', 'Muškat', 'Pinot', 'Rheinriesling', 'Tudum' and 'Welschriesling' are cultivated, from which it can be concluded that the range of grape varieties in these areas was very similar.
The quince (Cydonia oblonga) was particularly prized in winter when few fresh fruits were available.It was used to make compote, jam, and quince cake: quince cheese, the local "kitnikez" (originally "Quittenkäse" in German).Quince was regularly placed on the bedroom cupboard as a room fragrance.
The walnut (Juglans regia) was regularly planted to celebrate the birth of a child, but also to provide shade in the gardens.The green fruits are used to make a strong alcoholic drink "orahovac", which is also mentioned in the Lika region [24] and Žumberak-Samoborsko gorje [26].Its ground kernels are a common ingredient in various walnut cakes ("orahnjača").The walnut leaf was used against pests (insects) or for smoking as a tobacco substitute.
Of the other fruit varieties recorded, brandy is made from figs (Ficus carica) or apricots (Prunus armeniaca).Mulberries (Morus sp.) are used for "dudovača" brandy, similar to the custom in the Mediterranean part of Croatia [24].
The local name and variety of apricot "kajsija", whose kernels taste like almonds (Prunus amygdaloides Schltr.), are also consumed.The apricot is gradually disappearing from the area of NW Slavonia due to late frosts.
In the 19th century, Morus alba and M. nigra were planted on a large scale in the territory of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy by order of the Austro-Hungarian Empress Maria Theresa in order to produce fodder for mulberry silk (L.), which was processed in two silk factories in the Virovitica region [12].
Laurel (Laurus nobilis) was an indispensable spice when pickling cabbage or preparing bean stew, and this custom was also widespread in other parts of Croatia [25].
Numerous ornamental flowers were an essential part of the well-tended garden.In addition to beautifying the garden, the flowers often had a useful value: chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum × morifolium (Ramat.)Hemsl.) were brought to the cemetery especially for All Saints' Day, lilies (Lilium candidum) were carried to the church for the feast of St. Anthony (as in the town of Varaždin [25]), and were used to produce an ointment that promoted the healing of burns.Forsythia (Forsythia sp.) and narcissus (Narcissus pseudonarcissus and N. poeticus) were also prepared and carried to church on Palm Sunday (the Sunday before Easter).
Pelargonium (Pelargonium zonale) was a popular flower used by girls to decorate their hair (Virovitica Municipal Museum), which is also documented for the Žumberak-Samoborsko gorje Nature Park area [26].
The leaves of the ornamental plant Hosta sieboldiana are still used today as food to wrap meat with rice (in a dish called "sarma").Dogan et al. [46] recorded a few dozen species used for this purpose in SE Europe and SW Asia, but this species was not mentioned in their review and is an interesting local culinary tradition, maybe a recent innovation.Hosta spp.are however used in Japanese cooking [47].
Sempervivum tectorum was planted in front of houses as protection from evil forces, or on roofs to protect houses from thunder.This belief is also present in neighboring Serbia [32], coastal parts of Croatia (ŁŁ, IVK personal observations, unpublished observations), and Poland [31].

Cultivated Vegetable and Cereals Taxa
Agriculture was practiced very intensively in the researched area.One of the reasons for this was the breeding of numerous domestic animals (cattle and horses), whose feed requirements had to be met.The main crops grown in the fields were: Hordeum vulgare, Avena sativa, Linum usitatissimum, Triticum aestivum, Secale cereale, and Zea mays.
The plants grown in vegetable gardens are still important today, and more recently the cultivation of Ipomea batatas was recorded.The interviewees state that, in the past, much more Vicia faba and Pastinaca sativa, different varieties of Phaseolus vulgaris, and Pisum sativum were grown, then "thrown away" and forgotten with the advent of modern varieties.To save space in the field, Zea mays, Phaseolus vulgaris, and Cucurbita pepo were often sown together, similar to the Varaždin region [25].Valerianella locusta was also often sown between Solanum tuberosum.

Animal Feed and Medicine
Animals were called "treasures", and horses were loved and appreciated because they were a means of transport (carriage) and the most important "mechanization" for work in the fields.They were also a status symbol.Sometimes they were even treated as "family members".The "Lipicans" [48] were the most famous.Even today, there is a state stud farm for Lipicans in the town of Lipik.
The horses' feed consisted of Zea mays and Triticum vulgare seeds, to which Urtica dioica was added as a "healthy plant" and a source of protein.U. dioica was also fed to turkeys, chickens, etc.
In addition, common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) and danewort (Sambucus ebulus) were used to prevent disease; they were given to horses to prevent and avoid blood poisoning, called "ukrviti se".This particular use is not known in the neighboring countries, but for comparison, in Western Herzegovina combinations of Sambucus ebulus juice, whole egg, oil, and soot were used against mastitis, and oak bark was used to release blood above the udder [49].It is interesting that A. artemisifolia, an invasive plant from North America, became a traditional medicine for horses.Although occasionally recorded as a traditional medicinal plant in North America, its use in Europe is surprising [50].Respondents claimed that the invasive A. artemisiifolia appeared during the Second World War with humanitarian aid packages from North America.

Wild Plants
In total, 108 taxa of useful wild plants were recorded in the study area.One possible reason for a relatively good knowledge of wild herbs is the organized buying that took place in the past in buying stations, where people brought collected herbs that were then resold to pharmaceutical factories.In this way, the local population was able to further increase their household incomes.Table 1 shows which herbs were sold (for sale).
Picking fruits or above-ground parts of shoots of perennial plants in moderate quantities is rarely problematic, except in the case of rare and endangered species whose harvest could endanger many edible and medicinal plant species [51].In this category, the water nut (Trapa natans) is a nearly threatened (NT) species of Croatian flora, according to IUCN.It grows by water and is traditionally used as food, similar to chestnuts [37].Its large seeds are edible, have a sweet taste, and are rich in starch.They are eaten boiled, fried, or ground into flour.
Many wild-growing plants are of medicinal use and cultivated in gardens.Benedictine monks, who raised the level of health culture in Croatia, grew medicinal plants in their monastic gardens, and practiced medicine, are believed to have introduced this custom [36,52].
Plants are usually used in the form of infusions or decoctions.Alternatively, they are soaked in brandy.The leaves or grated roots are placed on wounds to drain pus and facilitate the healing process.The best indicator of trust in the healing power of plants is the large quantities of fresh and dried plants available every day at open-air markets in Croatia [36].
An interesting newly reported use is the utilization of young shoots of Phragmites australis for snacking, flour (boiled root), building material in traditional houses, and as shelter from the sun.A similar use as a sweetener (sugar substitute) has been documented for young shoots of Arundo donax, used in the Izola Region (Slovenia) [33].It was most likely introduced during sugar shortages caused by World Wars I and II or by the poorest of the poor at the time.Pteridium aquilinum was used as a vegetable in the past.The shoots and underground rhizomes of the species are widely used as food in Asia [53,54], but the food use of the shoots has hardly been recorded in Europe.Only in the Basque region of Spain, young fronds were occasionally chewed raw as a snack [55], or cooked in Istria (Croatia) [22].Occasionally also bracken rhozmes were used as famine food, e.g., in Belarus [56] and France [3].
At a time when coffee was not on the market or was very expensive, the local population prepared a substitute for coffee, so-called "white coffee", from the root of wild-growing chicory (Cichorium intybus) [22].Some forest species had a special significance, i.e., they were revered and favored.These included many oak species (Quercus spp.) and the wild cherry (Prunus avium), whose wood was particularly valued for its hardness and color.The trunks ("majpan") of tall hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), beech (Fagus sylvatica), poplar (Populus sp.), or willow (Salix sp.) were felled on May 1st, placed onsite when the construction of a house began, or decorated with ribbons and placed in the central squares.This custom probably spread from Central European countries [57][58][59].
On the eves and mornings of holidays, magical procedures were performed to protect family members and animals from diseases and troubles throughout the year.Plants play a significant role in these rituals because they transfer their vital and protective power to people and animals.An illustrative example is a custom of washing one's face with water in which spring flowers (Viola sp., Bellis sp., Taraxacum spp., etc.), were soaked on the morning of Palm Sunday.Plants brought to church on the same day also symbolize health.Cornus mas, a plant of health par excellence, is the most important among them; its curative power is evident from the folk saying "healthy as a cornelian cherry" [36].
Other plants brought into the church, such as Rosmarinus officinalis, Laurus nobilis, Taxus baccata, Corylus avellana, and Salix sp., were also regarded as guardians of health.Their power was enhanced by the blessing of the church.In the Northern Croatian coastal region, olive and palm branches are brought to the church to be blessed [30].
The custom of using olive branches for Palm Sunday has recently (around 1980) spread from coastal parts of Croatia [30], and the blessed branches are kept until the next Palm Sunday to protect the house from bad weather.In some regions, these plants were burned as incense.
In another area of Slavonia, around Slavonski Brod, Cornus mas, Salix caprea, Dipsacus sylvestris Mill., Filipendula hexapetala Gilib., and Epilobium parviflorum L. are tied into a bouquet on Palm Sunday [43].Cornus mas stands for general health, while the other plants are used for specific diseases.For example, the inflorescences of Salix caprea ("maca") are eaten for chest pain, Dipsacus sylvestris is used for scabies and mange, Epilobium parviflorum is burned as incense for skin rashes, and Filipendula hexapetala heals those afflicted by evil powers [43].The bouquets in this area are also brought for consecration on other feast days, e.g., on the feasts of St. John, St. Peter, and St. Paul.They are also kept for apotropaic purposes and to protect health.

Fungi
As many as 28 taxa of fungi were recorded, 27 of which are used exclusively as food.Eight were mentioned only once.Most fungi are used following heat treatment (boiling, frying).They are more rarely consumed raw.Sometimes they are preserved by drying or pickling.Boletus sp.(19 mentions), Cantharellus cibarius (16 mentions), and Lactarius piperatus (12 mentions) were the most commonly used (Table 1).
In comparison, Agaricus campestris, Boletus edulis, Cantharellus cibarius, and Macrolepiota procera are the most common in Northwestern Continental Croatia.In the Varaždin [25] and Central Lika regions [24], only the first three were mentioned.Only the use of Boletus edulis and Cantharellus cibarius was recorded in the Žumberak-Samoborsko gorje area [26].Similar species to those recorded in our study area are also used in the Dalmatian Zagora [60] and other regions of Europe [57,58].
Auricularia auricula-judae is the only species stated to have only been used as a raw snack.The same name and use were recently recorded from Serbia [45], though there it was reported to have been used in salads or cooked in soups, and considered to improve blood vessel function.No other food use of the species has been reported as traditional in Europe.
Fomes fomentarius is a fungus used in beekeeping, where it is lit to smoke the bees.Its use as kindling has also been mentioned; it is particularly important because it keeps the embers burning for a long time.Interestingly, it is also used to make an infusion (hot drink).
In contrast to wild plants, which were traditionally not collected on a large scale because there was no need for them (no famine), wild mushrooms had always been collected and eaten in Slavonia on a large scale.The local population knew them and ate them without fear.
Fungi were mostly picked by men, who knew the forest better.Only known fungi were collected to avoid possible poisoning.The porcini mushroom (Boletus sp.) was most prized, and prepared as a sauce, breaded, or used as a spice in stews.The surplus was cut into thin slices and dried in the sun to preserve it throughout the year.Such a custom was also widespread in the Žumberak-Samoborsko gorje National Park [26] and in Varaždin [25].For many, the sale of dried porcini mushrooms was an additional source of income.
Some fungi, such as the field fungi (Agaricus campestris), the honey fungi (Armillariella spp.), and the shield mushroom (Entholoma clypeatum) grew in orchards, which made them a special and easily accessible delicacy.They were prepared in goulashes.
Puffballs (Lycoperdaceae) were eaten as a raw snack or fried.They are also used in the neighboring Serbia [45].
The shaggy ink cap (Coprinus comatus) is not consumed with alcohol.It was suspected to contain the compound coprine, which can react with ethanol and have a toxic effect on the body.Therefore, alcohol should be avoided before, during, and after coprine consumption [61].This view was widespread among the local mushroom pickers but finally, no coprine was found in this species [49].In Serbia, C. comatus is used cooked or fried, dried, and used as chips.Medicinally, it is used for lowering blood sugar levels [45].
Evidence of the edible use of Sarcoscypha coccinea is of particular interest.It has hardly been reported as traditionally eaten in the past.Only in Serbia was it reported as part of a poached dessert [45].However, the taxon has recently become popular in Europe, e.g., in the UK [62] and Poland (Łuczaj, personal observations, unpublished data) due to its interesting color and easy identification of the genus.

Description of the Area Studied
The Croatian region of Slavonia is not administratively defined, but in a broader sense, it includes the administrative areas of four counties (Osjek-Baranja, Požega-Slavonija, Brodsko-Posavska, and Vukovarsko-Srijemska), the largest part of Virovitica-Podravska County, and smaller parts of Bjelovar-Bilogorska and Sisak-Moslavina Counties.Thanks to its soil resources and suitable climatic conditions, Slavonia is the most important agricultural area in the Republic of Croatia, especially for agricultural production, and is often referred to as the "granary of Croatia".The five counties that are wholly or largely part of Slavonia (out of a total of twenty-one counties in Croatia) make up 22% of the country's total area, while their share of the total area of arable land is 58% [63].The average agricultural area in Croatia is 7.04 ha per farm, and 14.49 ha per farm in the Slavonian counties [63].
The climatic characteristics of this area can be described as a fresh continental climate.The average annual temperature in the city is 10 • C. Air temperatures rise throughout the year and reach their maximum in July and August.The climate in this area is characterized by the fact that there are no dry periods in the year and precipitation is distributed throughout the year.The total annual rainfall is 808 mm and there are two rainfall peaks per year, the first in June and the second in November.The lowest rainfall occurs in late summer, early fall, and winter.The area is a typical lowland region and lies around 80 to 130 m above sea level [64,65].
The geological conditions and relief favor the socio-economic upgrading of the area and are not a limiting factor for development.The settlements are located in the flat part of the town and on the gentle slopes of Bilogora, which ensures uninterrupted economic utilization and infrastructure development.The Slavonian economy has always been strong.At the beginning of the 20th century, the oak forests in the entire forest area began to be exploited through investments of French capital [10].In the Virovitica area, the timber company Tvin d.o.o. was founded in 1913 and still produces furniture today.In 1976, Viro tvornica šećera d.d., a factory for the production and processing of sugar based in Virovitica, was founded.In addition, there used to be two silk factories for the production of mulberry silk [66].

Data Collection
The data were collected through interviews during extensive field visits to a Slavonian municipality-the town of Virovitica and surrounding settlements (Figure 5).

Description of the Area Studied
The Croatian region of Slavonia is not administratively defined, but in a broader sense, it includes the administrative areas of four counties (Osjek-Baranja, Požega-Slavonija, Brodsko-Posavska, and Vukovarsko-Srijemska), the largest part of Virovitica-Podravska County, and smaller parts of Bjelovar-Bilogorska and Sisak-Moslavina Counties.Thanks to its soil resources and suitable climatic conditions, Slavonia is the most important agricultural area in the Republic of Croatia, especially for agricultural production, and is often referred to as the "granary of Croatia".The five counties that are wholly or largely part of Slavonia (out of a total of twenty-one counties in Croatia) make up 22% of the country's total area, while their share of the total area of arable land is 58% [63].The average agricultural area in Croatia is 7.04 ha per farm, and 14.49 ha per farm in the Slavonian counties [63].
The climatic characteristics of this area can be described as a fresh continental climate.The average annual temperature in the city is 10 °C.Air temperatures rise throughout the year and reach their maximum in July and August.The climate in this area is characterized by the fact that there are no dry periods in the year and precipitation is distributed throughout the year.The total annual rainfall is 808 mm and there are two rainfall peaks per year, the first in June and the second in November.The lowest rainfall occurs in late summer, early fall, and winter.The area is a typical lowland region and lies around 80 to 130 m above sea level [64,65].
The geological conditions and relief favor the socio-economic upgrading of the area and are not a limiting factor for development.The settlements are located in the flat part of the town and on the gentle slopes of Bilogora, which ensures uninterrupted economic utilization and infrastructure development.The Slavonian economy has always been strong.At the beginning of the 20th century, the oak forests in the entire forest area began to be exploited through investments of French capital [10].In the Virovitica area, the timber company Tvin d.o.o. was founded in 1913 and still produces furniture today.In 1976, Viro tvornica šećera d.d., a factory for the production and processing of sugar based in Virovitica, was founded.In addition, there used to be two silk factories for the production of mulberry silk [66].

Data Collection
The data were collected through interviews during extensive field visits to a Slavonian municipality-the town of Virovitica and surrounding settlements (Figure 5).The interviews were conducted in the period from July 2022 to September 2023 using the semi-structured method of in-depth interviewing and the technique of free listing.Interviewees were selected from the local population using local connections and the snowball method or based on recommendations from key interviewees.Whenever possible, the interviews were conducted outdoors so that the interviewees could not only name the plant but also see and recognize it.In addition to the fname, interviewees were asked about the plant's uses, the parts used, and the methods used to prepare or process the plant.Thirty-five people were interviewed, with an average age of 78.37 years, ranging from 48 to 96 years.The interviewees included 22 (63%) women and 13 (37%) men.The principles of the American Anthropological Association Code of Ethics [67] and the International Society of Ethnobiology Code of Ethics [68] were followed in conducting the interviews.
For each plant, interviewees could name one or more of the following modalities or categories for different uses: food, beverage (non-alcoholic), cosmetics, alcoholic beverage, animal feed, tool or utensil, building or construction, ceremonial use, medicine, and other unspecified uses.The use reports were then used to assess their importance to the inhabitants of the study area.
Standard floras for this area of Europe were used to identify and authenticate the plants, e.g., Nikolić's guide to the identification of the flora of Croatia [69], Pignatti's Flora of Italy [70], and the Flora Croatica Database [71].The plant names are compared with WFO online [72].The voucher specimens were collected, herbarized and stored in the herbarium of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Zagreb, ZAGR (http://herbarium.agr.hr/(accessed 22 October 2023)).The fungi were housed at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Zagreb in Zagreb, and the names of the fungi follow the Index Fungorum [73].

Data Analysis
The following variables from the final dataset were used to analyze the collected data: interview ID, scientific plant name, plant family, useful parts of the plant, use categories, and the preparation method for its specific use (if available).Qualitative methods and quantitative ethnobotanical indicators were used for the analysis.To determine the level of awareness of a particular plant or fungus species, absolute frequencies (FC), i.e., the number of interviews in which a particular taxon was mentioned, were first used [74].Additional use was made of relative frequencies (RFC), i.e., the ratio of FC to the total number of interviews (N = 40) according to Tardio and Pardo-de-Santayana [75].
For each taxon, we then determined the number of use categories, i.e., the number of uses per species (NU), which could range from zero to a maximum of ten available use categories.
For each taxon, a use report (UR), i.e., the total number of uses by all respondents (from i 1 to i N ) and all use categories for that taxon, was calculated.The following formula was used [74]: The symbol NC stands for the number of different use categories, while N stands for the number of interviews or respondents.
The importance of the taxa for the study area was estimated using indices of relative importance (RI) and cultural importance (CI).The index of relative importance takes into account the position of the species in terms of relative abundance and the number of uses according to the taxa that have the highest values of these indicators.The RI s index is the

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.The most used plants in NW Slavonia area according to use categories.Figure 1.The most used plants in NW Slavonia area according to use categories.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.The most used plants in NW Slavonia area according to use categories.Figure 1.The most used plants in NW Slavonia area according to use categories.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Plant families with the highest use reports in NW Slavonia area by use categories.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Plant families with the highest use reports in NW Slavonia area by use categories.

Figure 3 .
Figure 3.The PCA scatter with biplot for plants with 15 or more use reports.

Figure 3 .
Figure 3.The PCA scatter with biplot for plants with 15 or more use reports.

Plants 2024 ,
13, x FOR PEER REVIEW 33 of 47 Rosmarinus officinalis, Triticum aestivum, and Zea mays.They all belong to seven out of the ten use categories.The importance of the taxa for the study area was assessed using the cultural importance (CI) and relative importance (RI) indices.Urtica dioica (CI = 1.625),Robinia pseudoacacia (CI = 1.275) and Sambucus nigra (CI = 1.25) have the highest cultural value for the community.Two of the plants with the highest CI values are also among the three plants with the highest values of RI.Five plants with the highest RI are Urtica dioica (RI = 0.929), Sambucus nigra, (RI = 0.859), Morus alba (RI = 0.847), Robinia pseudoacacia (RI = 0.831), and Tilia sp.(RI = 0.734).

Figure 4 .
Figure 4. Chord diagram of plants with UR> = 15 and their commonly used plant parts in the NW Slavonia area.(Note: The numbers next to the plant names indicate the number of plant parts used).

Figure 4 .
Figure 4. Chord diagram of plants with UR> = 15 and their commonly used plant parts in the NW Slavonia area.(Note: The numbers next to the plant names indicate the number of plant parts used).

Figure 5 .
Figure 5.The geographical position of the Northwest Slavonia study site (source: based on the county and municipality maps of Croatia available at https://vemaps.com/croatia/(accessed on 11 June 2024)).

Table 1 .
List of documented wild and cultivated plant taxa used in Northwest Slavonia (Croatia).
raw food for diabetics; cake "orahnjača", brandy "orahovac" for the stomach; liqueur for treating thyroid problems; dyeing fabrics; furniture materials; garden stakes; stock; leaf: insect and moth repellent (put in Phaseolus vulgaris with just few grains Piper nigrum, it was to expensive); smoked like tobacco; for slingshot and helicopter games

Table 2 .
Fidelity levels (FL) for the ten taxa with the highest number of reports of use.
Use categories ceremonial use and building or construction were not recorded for the listed taxa.

Table 2 .
Fidelity levels (FL) for the ten taxa with the highest number of reports of use.
Use categories ceremonial use and building or construction were not recorded for the listed taxa.